


In Wedded Bliss

by Diamond_Dragon_Queen



Series: Tales of the Champion [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Honeymoon, Light Angst, Light Dom/sub, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pokemon Battles, Smut, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Planning, Weddings, occasional language warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:07:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27184963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diamond_Dragon_Queen/pseuds/Diamond_Dragon_Queen
Summary: Celeste already has a lot on her plate, as the recently crowned Champion. Add wedding planning to that, and the poor girl is lucky she's able to get anything accomplished. One way or another, before her first Challenge Season as Champion starts, she will be married to her Dragon.
Relationships: Kibana | Raihan & Original Female Character(s), Kibana | Raihan/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Tales of the Champion [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1935682
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So, I’ve come up with a few one-shots for our beloved Celeste and Raihan. A few things about this particular one. First, obviously this is a bit longer than your typical one-shot, but despite the length, this is NOT the sequel fic. I repeat, this is NOT the sequel fic. That will come…eventually. Second, this is basically how I would have had the wedding come together for these two if the first baby hadn’t come along so soon, so we are just slightly AU from the end of The Dragon's Queen. And third, and most importantly, I need to thank AdeenBanner for letting me borrow Daddy Draken for this fic, because it just wouldn’t be the same without him. And in all honesty, to me, he’s basically a canon character at this point. If you haven’t checked out her Pokémon fics, 'Everything I Wanted' and 'Take A Chance On Me', you absolutely should! We don't see him quite yet, but we will soon. 😁

It had only been a few weeks since the end of the Challenge Season, and Celeste was ready to tear her hair out. Transitioning to a new Champion was challenging enough at times, but the committee for the Galarian League was an absolute nightmare. She thought she was prepared for how demanding the transition would be, since she had been Champion in Kalos, but Kalos had nothing on Galar. With all the pageantry that went on with the Challenge Season, there were endless sponsorship meetings and meetings about her uniform and how she wore her hair. There were even meetings about how they thought she should speak and battle. If she had nothing else on her plate, it would have been too much to handle already, but then she had to go and add in wedding planning on top of it. She swore that by the time the wedding finally came, she would either be bald, or prematurely gray.

She was sitting in a meeting with the League committee, another pre-sponsorship meeting and how they needed the sponsors to be able to continue to make as much of a spectacle as they did with the League. They were droning on about how she needed to make sure to speak to the representative of the new potential sponsor a particular way when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She tuned out the committee and opened the text.

**_Dragon Boi:_ ** _You still in with the committee?_

**_Champ-queen:_** _Ugh. Yes. It never ends. As if I don’t know how to speak to new sponsors._ 🙄🙄😒😒 _Please, just kill me._

**_Dragon Boi:_ ** _I would never. Besides, if you died, there would be no point in meeting with the caterer._

**_Champ-queen:_ ** _…_

Her eyes widened in realization as soon as she sent off the text. Her fingers tapped her next message with an almost manic desperation.

**_Champ-queen:_ ** _SHIT! THAT’S TODAY ISN’T IT?!?!?!?!?_

**_Dragon Boi:_** _Yep._ 🤣

She could practically hear Raihan laughing at her distress as another message quickly followed.

**_Dragon Boi:_ ** _I’m already here. I told him you were probably tied up, but we could go over some of the generals while we waited._

**_Champ-queen:_ ** _OMG, RAI TELL HIM THAT I AM SOOOO SORRY!!! I’M ON MY WAY NOW!_

She shot up out of her seat, drawing the attention of the entire room. “I think by now, I can handle the meeting with the new sponsor when it comes.” As one of the committee members opened their mouth to speak, she held up a hand, her tone turning sharp. “We’ve been sitting here for hours. And every meeting that we have before we meet with a sponsor is exactly the same. In fact.” She glanced at her watch with exaggeration. “We’ve been sitting her so long, you’re now keeping me from my other important meeting for the day, as my fiancé just reminded me.” She threw on her snap-back and ran for the door, checking her phone as another text came in.

**_Dragon Boi:_ ** _Calm down, Princess. He’s being cool about it. Not everyday you cater the Champion’s wedding, after all._

She sighed as she read the text and typed a response.

**_Champ-Queen:_ ** _That’s not really the point, though. The point is that it’s rude to be late to an appointment like that._

She ran from the building and breathed a sigh of relief when there was a taxi sitting out front. Since she was already late, she figured she might as well be bold and ask the cabbie for a huge favor. “I need to get to Hammerlocke ASAP. I know Corviknight can fly much faster when he doesn’t have to haul the taxi. Do you think there is any way I could just borrow Corviknight alone? I’ll even pay double the normal fare.”

The cabbie stuttered as he realized who she was. “Ch-champion Celeste!” He pulled off his cap and goggles as she pulled her wallet out and quickly flicked through the bills. “O-of course, I’d be more than happy to help you out. Anything you need.”

She chuckled at how star struck he seemed to be. He definitely wasn’t her usual cabbie. “I really appreciate it.” She handed him the bills. “I’ll send Corviknight back as soon as I land.” She turned to the raven Pokémon. “What do you think, Corviknight? Feel like really stretching your wings for once?” He peered at her for a long moment before stretching his wings and letting out a loud caw. She giggled at his enthusiasm before pulling her sunglasses down and turning her snap-back around so it wouldn’t catch the wind before climbing onto the raven Pokémon’s back. “Alright! Let’s head for Hammerlocke! Show me what you can do.” With another caw, Corviknight took to the air with powerful beats of his wings. As soon as he had made it to the altitude he wanted, he glanced back over his shoulder to Celeste. She gripped tighter with her legs, and leaned closer to his back, twisting her hands into the harness before giving a nod. He took off like a shot, and they made it to Hammerlocke in record time. As he finally set down on the ground in front of the stadium, Celeste pulled out a handful of sitrus berries and handed them to the raven Pokémon. He took them gratefully and then took off to return to his cabbie.

After letting out a giggle, she turned and sprinted for the caterer’s place. When she blew through the door, Raihan and the caterer looked up in surprise. Raihan glanced at his watch and then back to her, brow raised. “It’s only been thirty minutes since I texted you. How did you get here so fast?”

“Borrowed a Corviknight from a cabbie. They fly pretty fast when they’re only carrying a single person with no car.” She grinned, finally turning her snap back around to its proper place. As Raihan chuckled, she apologized again to the caterer. “I am so, so sorry for being late.”

The caterer waved her off. “It’s no trouble, Champion. Really.”

“I’ve narrowed down the list a little bit already, Princess. Come sit down and we’ll figure the rest out.” Raihan patted the seat next to him, and she quickly complied. He showed her the list they had started with, and she readily agreed with the things they had already taken away as options. They sampled several of the remaining appetizers and soups before they narrowed down the selections. When it came to the actual dinners, they ended up with a steak option and a chicken option, as well as a vegetarian option for the few of their friends that they thought might prefer it. The sides would include an array of veggies and a potato, either mashed or baked.

As they finished with the meal selections, the caterer brought out samples of cake. He hedged as he placed the plates in front of them. “I did prepare samples of cake for you as well. I have many clients that feel it is more convenient for me to do the cake as well, but I also have others that prefer to go elsewhere. So please do not feel pressured if these samples do not meet your criteria.” The first sample was a white cake with a chocolate mousse filling, topped with white chocolate icing with a fringe of chocolate decoration. The second was a more standard wedding cake with a layer of fondant on all sides. After taking a bite, Celeste frowned and deemed that fondant was off the table. Finally, they sampled another white cake with a cream cheese filling, reminiscent of cheesecake, topped with a combination of vanilla and chocolate buttercream.

Celeste melted in her seat as she took the bite, causing Raihan to chuckle. “I think we found a winner.”

After Celeste devoured the rest of the sample, she slapped her hands on the table. “Arceus, that was so good! You, sir, are a genius with cake.”

The caterer laughed. “I’m glad I could please your palate, Champion.”

“And save us time too!” Celeste added. “That’s one more thing for us to check off the list, and we hadn’t even gotten there yet.” They took a few minutes then to double check all of their choices and finalize everything with the caterer before heading for home.

As they left the caterer, Raihan wrapped an arm around her. “How did the committee take your abrupt exit?”

She sighed. “I’m sure they’ll have something to say about it next time. I didn’t really give them a chance to respond.” She leaned into him a bit more as they continued to walk home.

“They’re really being relentless. Leon didn’t have to deal with half of what you are dealing with.”

She groaned. “Yeah, because Rose handled a lot of it. Lee just had to show up and look pretty. The committee thinks they have so much power, and they keep trying to throw it around. It doesn’t help matters that I know what it’s like to be Champion already and am not giving in to a lot of their garbage. I can’t imagine anyone else having to take over with the mess that Rose left behind. The committee would eat almost anyone else alive.”

“And the wedding on top of that doesn’t help, does it?”

She shrugged. “If our League wasn’t set up the way it is, it wouldn’t be a problem, because we wouldn’t have to rush to get this done before the next season.” She poked him in the ribs. “But it’ll be worth it.”

He pulled her against him tighter. “There’s no question that it’ll be worth it.”

Over the next month, they had several different meetings with the various hotels in Hammerlocke. Even after they selected their venue, they had additional meetings to review the different set ups for the ceremony and the reception as well as going through the decorations that the hotel kept on hand for use for weddings. The layouts were fairly easy to decide on, but then when they got to the decorations, they hit a bit of a snag. The decorations themselves were dated. Celeste quickly passed and then set up a handful of other meetings with a decorator to go over a multitude of ideas. That seemed to take the longest, out of everything else they had decided on up to that point.

For the ceremony itself, the garden of the hotel was quite picturesque. Celeste wanted to keep things a bit simpler in the decorations. Simple seating, with a few garlands of white petunias and roses lining the aisle. The arch they would be standing in front of would also have some garlands of the same flowers flowing through the arch itself. There would be strands of fairly lights woven into the garlands, since the timing of the ceremony would be early evening. Inside, there would be fairy lights strung throughout the ballroom, creating a soft, fairy tale type glow. The centerpieces for the tables would have smaller bouquets of white roses combined with purple petunias and sprigs of lavender throughout. She wanted to maintain a balance between elegant and simple without leaning too far to one side or the other. Once the decorations were finally decided on, Celeste was able to send a message to her bridesmaids with the color of the dress that they would need. She wanted them in purple, more of a lavender shade, to balance out the purples in the flowers. She didn't really care what style each of them went with, as long as they were all in the same color.

With decorations out of the way, they then worked to get the rest of the smaller details lined up. They nailed down their officiant and set to work on finding a photographer. As soon as they found one they were satisfied with, they got scheduled to get their engagement photos taken. They did two sets. The first set, they took in their uniforms, both with and without their Pokémon. Battling was such a huge part of both of their lives, that they would have felt weird not having any of their pictures reflect that. After nearly a full day of shooting pictures in and out of the Gym in their uniforms, their photographer had them change into their other clothing choices and set to work taking more pictures throughout the evening.

They both had elected to go more kind of middle of the road in the fashion department. They were a bit too fancy to be casual, but also too casual to be dressed up. Raihan had a pair of distressed jeans that he rarely wore. They were a fancier pair that he had gotten shopping with Nessa ages ago, when she had dragged him out. He paired that with deep red button up, with the sleeves rolled back just a bit. Celeste had gone with a pair of skinny jeans with a pair of black slouchy boots that came midway up her calf. She paired it with a red tank top that would match Raihan’s shirt, with her black leather jacket. Most of the pictures they took in the evening were just of the two of them, though they did get the photographer to cave and take a few with them each having just one of each of their teams out with them. Celeste had to alternate pictures with Anubis and Loki, since she couldn’t just pick one, while Raihan had Flygon out.

Once the engagement photos were out of the way, the main things they had left to get set early on were the invitations, wedding rings, DJ, and to start planning the honeymoon. The rest of the planning only involved smaller groups of people, for things like the bachelor and bachelorette parties as well as the bridal shower. Celeste wasn’t even really sure that they needed to do the bridal shower. She figured that people would be sending whatever gifts along as soon as they got the invitations, and they really didn’t need much else when it came to setting the house up. They were pretty well squared away already. So, after a lot of back and forth, they finally decided to nix the bridal shower and elect to include on their invitations that if people felt the need to send gifts, monetary or sentimental gifts were preferred, as they wouldn’t be registering anywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will say, that I know practically nothing about wedding planning. I wanted to highlight a few of the bigger items, but then kind of gloss over the rest. As it is, I still have one or two chapters left to complete on this fic, and we're a bit shy of 25k words. There was a lot that I wanted in here, and some of the other things we get into are more important than some of the actual planning details. I hope you enjoy it, regardless. See you all soon with some smutty goodness next!
> 
> Also....I hope y'all enjoyed the easter egg in there. I may have been a smidge inspired.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW!!!
> 
> Smutty goodness follows!! As promised!!!

She had been running herself ragged trying to juggle the League and the wedding planning, so once they finally got the photos done, Raihan pushed her to take a day off. When she finally took the day off, she took advantage of the fact to sleep in for once. Raihan had taken the day off as well, to take advantage of some, mostly, uninterrupted time with her. The only part of their day that they had anything planned, would be mid-afternoon when their DJ was coming by to go over the music for the reception. He’d woken up about eight, his internal clock nagging him that he should be awake. He rolled over and saw that Celeste was still sound asleep, her exhaustion pulling at her. Figuring that they could take another couple of hours to sleep still, he carefully, not wanting to wake her, wrapped her up in his arms and tangled their legs together. She shifted with his touch before letting out a sigh and easing against him. A pleased smile came to his lips as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift back to sleep.

He woke a couple hours later, still with her wrapped in his arms. He lifted his head to glance at the clock and saw that it was almost ten. With a sigh, he started to peel himself away from her to go make breakfast. His eyes crinkled with warmth as he watched her curl up more on herself after losing his warmth. He couldn’t resist and leaned back down to press a kiss to her bare shoulder. He was just pulling away when she stirred. She rolled over and peeled her eyes open, looking at him blearily. “Mmm…Rai?” Her voice was thick with sleep. “Are you going to the Gym?”

He let out a low chuckle. “Nah, we’ve both got the day off, remember, Princess?”

She groaned as she stretched. “Then where are you going?” The sheets pulled down with the motion, coming to rest just below her chest. His eyes travelled down to the mounds of her breasts, just barely contained by the loose tank top she wore to bed.

Desire rushed through his veins as he let out a low growl. “I WAS going to go make breakfast.” He knelt on the bed, after throwing the covers back. “But now I think I’ve found something far more appetizing.”

She flushed at his growl, heat starting to fill her belly. She reached a hand out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him toward her. “It HAS been a while, hasn’t it?”

He allowed her to pull him forward and came to rest with his hands on either side of her head, caging her in. “It has.” He growled before claiming her lips in a heated kiss. As he pulled away, he murmured. “You’ve been too busy.” Before quickly claiming her lips again.

When he finally pulled away, he settled his lips at her throat, kissing and nipping his way down. As her hands tangled in his hair, she let out a breathy apology. “Mmm. I’m sorry, baby.” His lips had reached her collarbone. As she felt the sting that told her she would have a mark there later, he moved one of his hands down to her hip to slip under her top. He pulled away for a moment, drawing a whine from her lips, which brought a smirk to his own. He shifted down, his other hand joining the first at her waist, pushing her shirt up as he caressed her skin. His lips and tongue were quick to follow, trailing up her belly until he reached her breasts.

His hands groped at her breasts, massaging them both as his lips surrounded one of her pert nipples. His tongue swirled around the nipple before he pulled on it lightly with his teeth, drawing a groan from her lips. She tugged lightly on his hair, pulling him up to crash her lips against his. As she pulled away, a gleam shone in her eyes as she pushed him back. “Strip.” She practically growled the words at him, sending a flash of heat straight to his cock. She pulled her own shirt the rest of the way off while he complied.

She licked her lips as she looked him up and down. “Sit against the headboard.” A low growl left his lips. Celeste didn’t take control very often, but when she did, it set off something primal in him. As he sat back, she straddled him on her knees and grabbed his wrists before he could put his hands on her. She lifted them up above his head and placed them against the bar that ran across the top of the headboard. “Hold onto the bar. You don’t touch until I give you permission.” Her voice was low, heated and he let out another growl. She placed a finger against his lips, silencing him. “Do you want me?”

His body tensed, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “You know I do.”

“Then do as I say.” She growled back. Pressing her lips against his, licking his lips before deepening the kiss. She kissed across his jaw and down his neck, running her hands over his chest, greedily. He hissed as her fingers flicked over his nipples, hardened with his arousal. He groaned as her nails scraped across his abdomen while she trailed her tongue across his chest, swirling around a nipple. With a smirk, she pulled away, stripping off her shorts and panties before kneeling between his legs. Raihan let out a groan as she took his length in hand, drawing a smirk from Celeste. She lowered her lips toward his cock, hesitating for a moment to let a breath ghost across the tip. She flicked her tongue out, swirling around the tip before taking his length into her mouth.

“Arceus.” The groan left Raihan’s lips as his head thudded against the headboard as Celeste worked his cock in and out of her mouth, her hand making up the difference for what she couldn’t take. Her thumb came to rest against a particularly sensitive spot, just under the head of his cock, applying pressure in tandem with a swirl of her tongue, drawing another satisfying groan from him as he bucked his hips into her touch. She continued to work him before she pulled her mouth off of him with a pop. She met his gaze as she licked her lips, drawing a low growl from Raihan at the action.

She continued to tease him for a few minutes, before another growl rumbled through his chest as his eyes flashed. “Unless you want me to break the headboard, you should stop teasing.” His tone was low, sending shivers up her spine. She gave him a challenging look before releasing her hand and resuming her place in his lap. This time, as she straddled him, she lowered herself against his lap, letting him feel her wetness dripping down against his thighs and his cock. She ground against him, smirking as his grip tightened on the headboard. She rocked her hips against his slowly as her lips found his pulse, licking there before grazing her teeth against his throat. He shuddered as she rolled her hips against his once more. He bucked his hips against hers, his teeth clenching together. “Just…Fucking sit on it already, babe.”

She licked a trail from his chest back up his neck to his ear, grabbing the lobe with her teeth and tugging for a moment before she whispered in his ear. “That’s no way to ask.” She kissed his neck before continuing. “But I suppose that I can let it slide.” She pulled back and rose up, reaching a hand down to grab his cock, guiding him to her entrance before slowly sliding down his length. He let out a groan as he was finally surrounded by her wet warmth. Without thinking, his grip on the headboard loosened and he started to lower his arms, only for his wrists to be captured in her hands once more. “I didn’t say you could touch yet.” She lifted her hips almost all the way off of him and slammed them back down. A small whine slipped from her lips before she started to ride him with more focus, crashing her lips to his while she held his wrists against the headboard. She could feel the knot starting to build in her belly as Raihan started bucking his hips up to meet her. Her hands fell from his wrists to bury in his hair.

After a few more thrusts, he couldn’t take it anymore. His hands dropped to her hips, pulling her against him with more force than before, drawing a moan from her lips finally. She was panting, so close to her release as he ran his lips down the column of her throat. “Cum for me, baby.” He growled the words against her skin before raking his fangs across her throat. With a cry, her body spasmed around his and she slumped against his shoulder. He continued to thrust through her orgasm before finally pulling her down against him hard as he found his own release.

As she was coming down from her high, she mumbled against his shoulder. “I never gave you permission to touch, you know.”

He snorted before kissing the shoulder in front of him. “Something tells me you aren’t terribly upset with the outcome.” She hummed before slowly leaning back to look at him. He kissed her before grinning. “You should really do stuff like that more often.” At her look of surprise, he kissed her again. “It’s fucking hot as hell.” She chuckled before she fully pulled away from him, flopping on the bed beside him. He watched her move and saw her wince slightly. “Roll over.” Her brow rose before she complied, rolling over on her stomach. He moved to straddle her hips. He brushed her hair off to the side before digging his fingers into her shoulders, working at the muscles. She let out a groan of satisfaction at the sensation.

He worked his way down her back, trailing kisses behind the path that his hands took. He grabbed a handful of her ass as he kept working his way down, eyes flicking up to see her watching him over her shoulder as he moved. Before he could do much more, she rolled over, her legs falling open for him as she grabbed one of her breasts with one hand, her other snaking down her belly to come to rest between her thighs, her fingers gently stroking along her slit before circling around her clit. She watched him with a sultry smile as she continued to slowly play with herself. Raihan moved closer before he started kissing his way up the inside of her thigh, occasionally nipping with his fangs as he worked his way up.

Her fingers trailed across her slit before dipping inside. When she started to pull her hand away, he caught her wrist, bringing her fingers to his lips, licking away the wetness there. He kept his eyes locked on hers as he lowered his face before taking a long, slow lick along her slit. Her pupils blew wide with heat as she watched him lick his lips before he focused on the task before him.

He ran his tongue up and down her opening, before flicking it against her clit. He flicked the nub several times before latching his lips around it and giving it a generous suck, drawing a hiss from Celeste’s lips, as she was still a bit hypersensitive from her previous orgasm. Raihan grinned as he continued to lick and suck at her clit, working her entrance with his talented fingers until she finally growled at him. “You really need to fuck me. Now.”

With his grin still on his lips, he lifted her legs over his shoulders as he lined himself up with her entrance and easily slid into her warmth, burying himself inside of her. The angle of her hips let him reach even deeper inside of her than he had been able to when she had been riding him earlier, and a moan finally fell from Celeste’s lips. Raihan started to thrust, quickly building to a bruising pace. He snaked a hand down between them and rubbed at her clit, causing Celeste to tighten around him. He continued to push her limits before she finally shattered around him, practically screaming his name. As her walls clenched his cock with her orgasm, he powered through, quickly following behind her with his own release.

He pulled away from her before flopping down on the bed beside her. He pulled her into his arms as Celeste let out a satisfied sigh before falling asleep against his chest. Raihan watched her sleep in his arms for a bit before he closed his eyes and laid there, absently running his fingers over her skin.

She stirred about a half an hour later, still laying across his chest, in his arms, dozing lightly as he ran his hand up and down her back. He would sometimes pause to draw lazy patterns on her skin. She sighed as one of the patterns he drew made her shiver. “This is nice.” She murmured. “I don’t want to move.” She had barely finished her words when her stomach growled.

Raihan chuckled, the rumbling in his chest sending tingles down her spine. “I don’t want to move either, but I think your stomach thinks otherwise. C’mon, Princess. Let’s go take a shower, and then I’ll make you breakfast.” He glanced at the clock and snorted. “Or I guess lunch would be more appropriate by the time we clean up.”

She pushed herself up off of his chest. “You’re my favorite, you know that?” She gave him a quick kiss before climbing out of bed.

He grinned. “I know. Just like you’re mine.” He rolled himself out of bed and followed her to the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured I would try to get y'all something filthy to enjoy while we sit and wait to see where the country is headed, since at the time of posting, we are still waiting for results. That way, even if you aren't happy with the results, at least you can be happy with smut. 
> 
> I tried not to be repetitive of any of the previous smut between this lovely pair, but it's getting hard guys. 😏😏
> 
> Remember to stay safe out there!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> I was reminded that, a year ago today, Sword and Shield came out. I was going to wait a bit longer before posting this chapter, but I figured that you all deserved a chapter in honor of the anniversary of what led to the creation of Celeste, and The Dragon's Queen.

After they were sufficiently cleaned up, Raihan simply threw on a pair of sweats, since they had no plans of leaving anytime soon. He would put a shirt on before the DJ got there, but that was still a couple hours away. He headed for the kitchen to start making lunch while she finished dealing with her hair. She had pulled on a clean pair of workout shorts and one of her loose crop top tanks. She only ever wore them when she was home anymore, because of the scars. The ones on her arms didn’t bother her as much anymore, but she was still self-conscious about the ones on her belly and back. She spent an extra few minutes going through her normal care routine for her hair, since her work at the League lately had been forcing her to go without. She was just finishing tying her hair off after braiding it as she walked into the living room. She was heading for the kitchen to grab a drink when there was a knock at the door.

Raihan called out from the kitchen. “Can you get that, Princess? I can’t stop what I’m doing.” He was standing over the stove, and she could smell the bacon and turkey he was frying for sandwiches.

“I’m not expecting anyone yet, are you?” She called as a knock sounded again.

“Not til the DJ gets here later.”

“You don’t think it’s that sleazeball reporter, do you?”

He laughed. “Nah. The press don’t dare to show their faces here. Not since the one time I threatened to feed them to my dragons if they didn’t leave.”

She let out a laugh as she headed for the door. She could hear him shifting around the kitchen as he pulled the meat out of the pan and shoved the pan to a cold burner to cool. She opened the door and stood there, mouth falling open as her greeting died on her tongue. The man standing at the door was absolutely gorgeous. He was almost Raihan’s height, with similar dark skin. Dark hair that was starting to gray just a bit, was pulled back in a handsome ponytail. He wore glasses over his striking teal eyes. His voice was warm as he spoke. “Ah, you must be Celeste.”

His voice sent a tingle through her and shocked her back to her senses. “Um…babe?” She called over her shoulder. “I think it’s for you.” She glanced back at the man standing at the door. He looked so familiar, but she was sure she’d never met him before.

“Okay, one sec.” A plate scraped on the table as he picked it up to bring it to her. When he got to the door, he held it out for her as he pulled the door open wider. “Now who’s…..” He trailed off as his eyes widened in shock. The plate he was holding slipped from his hand as it trembled. It clattered to the floor, scattering the sandwich across the floor. “Dad?” He whispered.

“Hello, Rai.” His voice was still warm, but Celeste could hear the sadness there as well. “It’s been a while.”

Celeste could see Raihan still trembling and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. It seemed to pull him out of his stunned silence. “What are you…? Why are you…? How…? What?”

Draken let out a low chuckle. “Take a deep breath, bud. Did you actually think I wouldn’t come back for my son’s wedding?” He pulled out the invitation from the pocket of his blazer.

Celeste remembered the discussion they had had when they had been working on the guest list and been getting ready to send out invitations.

_“Okay, so we know all the Gym Leaders will be there, plus their families. Obviously, Leon and his family will be there, since they are practically my family.” Celeste was ticking through the list of names. “I’m sure there’s a handful of people that would make the trip from Kalos. There’s the Professor, the Elite Four, and most of the Gym Leaders there.” She continued down the list. “We’ve got your Gym staff.” She sighed. “The League committee, ugh.”_

_Raihan had laughed then. “You know you don’t HAVE to invite them?”_

_“Don’t we?” She countered. “I will literally never hear the end of it if the League committee and staff aren’t invited.” She mumbled angrily then. “Arceus forbid that the Champion do what she WANTS for her own wedding.”_

_He threw his arm around her. “It won’t be that bad. You know most of them won’t actually come, and just want the honor of being invited.”_

_She sighed. “True enough.” She got down to the bottom of the list. “And that just leaves actual family. My parents are gone. I’ve got a couple of aunts and uncles and a few cousins, but not much else. What about your family, babe?”_

_His face fell. “I wouldn’t count on my family showing up.”_

_She saw his expression twist, and she edged closer to him, taking his hand in hers. “Rai?”_

_He glanced at her before sighing. He squeezed her hand. “You know my mom passed when I was fifteen. My dad…he didn’t take it well at all. He passed the Gym and the Vault and all of that off to me and bailed. I get a call from him from time to time, but he hasn’t been back to Galar since. I wouldn’t bother sending him an invitation. He won’t come.”_

_“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still send the invitation.” She said softly. “Even if he doesn’t come, Rai, he should still know that you’re happy and should still have the decision to make for himself.” She smiled then. “You never know. He might surprise you.”_

_He scoffed before rolling his eyes. “Right. If that happens, I’ll plant a kiss on Leon, in front of everyone.”_

_She nearly choked. “No, you wouldn’t.”_

_He shrugged. “You’re right, I won’t, because my dad won’t show. It’s a safe bet, Princess.”_

_She laughed. “Oh, babe. You know I’m going to hold you to it if he does show.”_

She fought back a snort as she clapped her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing as she remembered the bet he had made with her. Her sudden reaction pulled both dragons attention to her, causing her to flush at the intensity of the twin teal gazes. She shot Raihan a meaningful look. “Sorry. I was just remembering a bet that we made.” She crouched down to pick up the fallen plate and sandwich before moving toward the kitchen. She heard Raihan suck in a breath as he realized what she meant. “Rai, why don’t you invite your dad in?” She turned to Draken. “We were just getting ready to eat, are you hungry?”

Raihan gestured for Draken to come in, still not sure exactly how to react to his father’s presence. Draken was gracious as he stepped in. “No, thank you. I already ate.”

She swept into the kitchen and set the plate down before heading for their bedroom. “Hey, Princess, grab me a shirt while you’re in there.” Raihan called out as she disappeared. At her sound of acknowledgement, he turned to head back to the kitchen to salvage the remnants of lunch.

Draken was just sitting down on the sofa when Raihan turned around. He was still as observant as ever and had seen the scars on Celeste’s arms and stomach but was too much of a gentleman to comment on them or stare. But when he saw the same scars on his son’s back, an ominous growl filled the living room. Raihan turned back toward him as his eyes flashed with anger and he shot to his feet. “What happened to your back? Who did this?” He ground the words out, his teeth bared.

Celeste was just pulling on one of the tank tops that made up her uniform and was grabbing Raihan one of his own when she heard the growl. She rushed out to the living room as Raihan turned around to glare at his father. “I don’t think it’s really any of your business, is it?” Raihan growled back.

Celeste edged closer to Raihan, handing him his shirt. “Here, babe.” She kept her voice even, just as she would if a pair of her own Dragon Pokémon were ready to fight. “So…what’s this about?”

Raihan took a step back, pulling his shirt on. “He saw the scars.” She stiffened and he sighed before he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “It’s up to you if you want to share. I’m gonna go save our lunch.”

Draken stood there for a long moment after Raihan walked away, fists clenched before he took several long breaths. Celeste watched him warily as she watched the tension slowly bleed from his body with each breath. As he finally relaxed his stance, he met her gaze. “I apologize for my behavior. I tend to…overreact…when things happen to my family.” Raihan scoffed in the kitchen. Draken held out a hand to Celeste. “I haven’t introduced myself properly yet. Draken Gray.”

Slowly, she took his hand. “Celeste. But then, you already knew that.” As he released her hand, he sat back down. She sat across from him, eyes becoming steadily less wary and growing more curious. “So…” She hesitated under his gaze. About that time, Raihan was rejoining them, setting a plate on her lap as he sat down beside her. She edged closer to him, as the topic that had been brought up first was not her favorite. “You wanted to know about the scars?” She didn’t miss how his eyes flicked to her arms for just a moment before he nodded. She took a bite of her sandwich while she remembered, looking down at her plate. As she swallowed, she looked up, eyes hard. “It was my ex. He abused his Pokémon and then used them to attack me. Raihan got there in time to take one of the hits for me. I spent two weeks in the hospital, and most of that was unconscious. Rai was there the entire time. Well, except for when he had to be taking challengers, then Leon was there.” She shook her head. “But, anyway, that’s what happened.”

Raihan had finished his sandwich as she talked and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him as she resumed eating. He knew she hated reliving the memories.

Draken was silent, but his eyes were filled with anger again. After Celeste finished eating, he asked a question, his voice not much more than a growl again. “And where is the bastard now?”

“Dead.” Raihan answered quickly, hoping his father would drop it.

“Good.” Draken growled. “Anyone that hurts my family deserves nothing less. Too bad I didn’t get to turn him to ashes.”

“There wasn’t much left to burn. Tiny still does his job well.” Raihan let out a growl then. “Though I’m not really sure why it makes any difference to you. This all happened months ago. Not that you were here to care.”

Draken flinched back. “Raihan…I…”

Raihan cut him off, the hurt and resentment after being abandoned all those years ago filling his voice. “I’m really not even sure why you’re here. You said you didn’t want to miss my wedding, but what about everything else you’ve missed?” He growled, his hurt turning into anger. “Or did I just not matter enough then?” Not waiting for a reply, he stood, grabbing the plates and storming to the kitchen.

Draken recoiled as if he’d been slapped. Celeste’s eyes widened as she watched the pair of dragons. She had never heard Raihan sound as hurt as he did at that moment. She knew that he had held a lot of resentment toward his father for leaving, but before that moment, she didn’t realize just how much. And Draken. She didn’t know him well yet, but he and his son were clearly very much alike, because she could tell how much Raihan’s words had hurt him. Draken seemed to sink into himself a bit as he sat there on the sofa. Raihan was keeping himself as busy as he could in the kitchen, trying very hard to avoid looking in his father’s direction.

Celeste let out a low sigh. After another long couple of minutes, Raihan finally rejoined them, sitting as close to her as he could manage while attempting to put himself as far from his father as he could. Celeste glanced at her watch. It didn’t seem possible that it was closing in on the time the DJ was supposed to be stopping by. ‘ _All right. This has got to stop. I’m not dealing with this between now and the wedding.’_ She cleared her throat, drawing both of their teal gazes. _‘Arceus, they need to stop doing that at the same time. That is way too much intensity for one girl to take.’_ She flushed slightly under their scrutiny.

“So, Draken. I understand that you were the Gym Leader here in Hammerlocke before Raihan?”

He nodded. “That’s right. I held the Gym for seventeen years.”

She smiled. “So, I’m sure that someone like you still battles fairly regularly.”

His brow rose, unsure of where she was going with her line of thought. “I do, from time to time, when called for.”

“Princess, what are you…”

She clapped her hands together, cutting Raihan off. “Excellent. Raihan and I have our DJ stopping by shortly to go over the music lists for the wedding. After that, we’re all going to the Gym, and the two of you…” She pointed to both males. “Are going to battle.”

Draken’s eyes widened as Raihan growled. “Babe, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She stood and put her hands on her hips, leveling a glare at Raihan. “I think it’s a perfectly good idea. You both clearly have feelings you need to work through, and things to get off your chests. And this…” She gestured between the two dragons again. “Isn’t going to continue.”

Raihan stood then, his eyes flashing with anger. “And I’m telling you that it’s not…”

She rounded on him, her own lavender eyes turning icy. “Rai. I have enough stress to deal with right now with the League and still some of the fallout from Rose’s shit. And then add in the wedding planning on top of that. I don’t need to deal with a pair of angsty dragons that can’t get their emotions figured out.” Her voice dropped to a hiss. “So, you’re either going to go battle your father, and the two of you can figure your shit out. Or I can kick both of your asses and straighten you both out myself. Either way, I am not going to deal with this…” She gestured around the living room. “From now until the wedding.”

Draken was a bit taken aback as he watched Celeste tear into them. For a moment, he saw his own wife standing there instead of Celeste. At that moment, he saw exactly what his son saw in her, and realized that she was the only one in the world that would be right for his son. That being said, there was still one thing he wanted to see from her. “I’ll battle Raihan.” He spoke slowly, drawing their attention. “But after I battle him, I would like to battle you as well, Celeste.”

Raihan’s jaw dropped. He didn’t think that there was any way that his father would ever set foot inside Hammerlocke’s Gym again for the rest of his life, and yet, Celeste had not only convinced him to do so, but now his father wanted to battle BOTH of them?

Celeste’s brow rose. “You know I’m the Champion, right?” At his nod, she continued. “And you still want to battle me?”

He shot her a confident smile. “There’s something I would like to see for myself. So, yes, I’m sure.”

She shrugged. “All right. Suit yourself.” The doorbell rang. “Oh!” She glanced at the clock. “That’ll be the DJ, babe.” She turned her attention back to Draken. “I don’t think this will take too terribly long. You’re welcome to hang out here until we’re done?” Her offer ended more like a question, since she wasn’t entirely sure if he would want to stay.

He settled back into his seat, crossing one leg over the other. “I’ll just wait here.”

They settled at the dining room table with the DJ. Draken listened idly as they discussed the different music for the wedding reception. They started with the list of songs that they absolutely did not want to hear. The list was surprisingly short, since the pair, Celeste especially, had a wide range of music tastes. When they got to the songs that they absolutely wanted to hear, things were a bit tougher. Again, they had a broad enough taste in music, that it was hard to narrow the list down. Then they got to the music for the wedding party’s entrance to the reception. The two bickered back and forth for a few minutes before they settled on a song. Then, it was time for the dances.

The DJ ran through the typical script for receptions. “Okay, then. So, once the wedding party enters, we’ll have some music going in the background. Usually I just use songs that aren’t on either the Do Not Play, or the Absolutely Play list, because they’re ones that you aren’t as worried about getting up and dancing to. We’ll obviously stop the music during the toasts and the cake cutting. Once the cake cutting is over and everybody is eating, I’m guessing the two of you will be making the rounds, so we’ll go back to the background music. From there, you’ll just have to let me know when you’re ready for the first dance. What song did you decide on for your first dance?”

Celeste glanced at Raihan. He had left that decision completely up to her. He just nodded that he was okay with whatever she had chosen. “Um. I know it’s probably overdone, but I really love “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran.” She was quiet, a bit embarrassed by her choice.

The DJ just shrugged. “You’d be surprised what some people pick. And it doesn’t matter what I think of the music. What matters is what you think of the music being played at your wedding. You guys are paying me to make it what you want.”

Raihan chuckled. “That’s true.”

The DJ continued after he made notes on his computer. “Okay. After the first dance, we typically have another song or two to follow that so other people can join in. Any songs in particular you would want to transition to?” They both shook their head. “Okay then, we’ll just take something off the Absolutely Play list. Then, we typically have the family dances. You know, father/daughter and mother/son. Have you decided on the songs for those?”

Celeste and Raihan both fell silent, glancing at each other. Raihan scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Um, we weren’t really planning on having either of those dances. We’re kind of missing the appropriate partners.”

Draken cleared his throat behind them. “Celeste, if you’d like, I would be honored to stand in for you. I know we aren’t related by blood, but you will be my daughter, nonetheless.”

Celeste and Raihan’s eyes widened in surprise. Neither of them knew what to say. The DJ glanced between Draken and the pair a few times before he coughed. “Okay, well, why don’t you think about it and get back to me on what you decide.” Celeste nodded. He closed his computer. “Well. I think that about covers it then. If you think of more songs that need to go on either list, let me know. I’m usually pretty flexible with music requests. I just like to give you guys a deadline of about two weeks before the wedding for any changes to the selections. Otherwise, call me anytime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure this is one of the longest chapters I have ever written for you guys that didn't involve Pokemon battles. 
> 
> Again, huge thanks to AdeenBanner for letting me borrow Draken! And also for helping me out with Draken's part of the story, because I absolutely wanted to do justice by this man.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG YOU GUYS!!!!! THE DRAGON'S QUEEN HAS REACHED OVER 10K HITS!!!!!! WHAT EVEN????
> 
> So, in commemoration of such a momentous occasion, I decided to post the next chapter a bit earlier than I had planned on. Thanks to all of you that have shown so much love for Celeste and Raihan! It's just so awesome!
> 
> Also, wanted to mention again that AdeenBanner is the absolute best for allowing me to borrow her OC Draken!

Once the DJ had left, Raihan and Celeste moved into their bedroom to change. These weren’t going to be official battles, but given Raihan’s typical use of Sandstorm, they figured it would be better to stick with their uniforms. Celeste grabbed a bag and threw in a spare set of casual clothes for both of them. When Raihan gave her a questioning look, she shrugged. “Can never be too prepared.” They both checked their belts to make sure their teams were secure. She caught Raihan hesitating as he picked out his team. When he finally settled on his finals team, she questioned him. “I’ve never seen you reach for that lineup, except for the finals. Are you sure?”

He tilted his head to the side and frowned at her. “You’re doing it again.” At her look of confusion, he shook his head. “You’re underestimating my dad. You think because you know how I battle, that you know how he battles. I promise you, Princess, you don’t want to underestimate him.”

She sighed before she wrapped her arms around him. “Take a deep breath, Rai. You’re letting him get under your skin before we’ve even gotten to the Gym.”

He took a deep, shuddering breath. She felt his muscles relax under her touch. “You’re right. This isn’t me at all.”

She finally released him and shot him a smirk. “At least he didn’t show up any earlier than he did. That would have been awkward.” He groaned as he picked up the bag she had packed and tossed it over his shoulder before heading out the door. She was right on his heels. Draken stood as they entered the living room. Raihan just nodded to him before he made for the door and led the way to the Gym. They were all silent as they walked. Celeste caught a few people shooting them looks and whispering. She almost asked Raihan about it, but then she realized they weren’t looking at her or Raihan, but Draken. When she glanced back at him, his jaw was tight, the only sign that he was uncomfortable as he walked through Hammerlocke.

When they arrived at the stadium, Raihan didn’t hesitate as he walked inside. Celeste paused in the doorway, looking back at Draken. He had stopped just inside the shadow of the castle. He was staring up at the battlements, a faraway look on his face. She glanced over at Raihan, who had finally stopped inside and turned toward them, his own expression pained, before turning around and walking to Draken’s side. She placed a hand on his arm. “Draken?” She spoke his name quietly, concern evident in her voice.

He seemed to startle before he let out a shaky sigh. “Sorry.” He lifted his glasses to rub at his eyes. “It’s been a long time since I’ve set foot in this stadium.” His voice wavered. “It’s….a lot.”

“You don’t have to push yourself. I’m sure we could do these battles elsewhere.”

He shook his head. “No. I need to do this.”

She kept a hand on his arm until they hit the door. He took a deep breath before he finally stepped inside. The three of them made for the pitch together. Sebastian, Camilla, and Aria were there, running through some drills. Their faces all turned to shock as they saw Draken with Raihan and Celeste. When Raihan told them to clear out for the day, Celeste could tell that they were disappointed, but they didn’t argue with him when they saw the look on his face.

Raihan turned to face them. “So? Are we doing this? Or what?” His tone was hard. Celeste and Draken stepped forward.

She took his hand. “I’ll ref for you. It means I won’t be able to cheer you on. So, I’ll say it now. Good luck.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Thanks. I’ll be fine.” Her raised brow told him that she didn’t entirely believe him. She moved to the ref’s stand to take her place.

Draken stepped closer, a hand in his pocket. He held out his other hand to Raihan with smirk. “I’m expecting a lot from this battle, kiddo. Don’t disappoint me.”

A growl rose in Raihan’s throat. He had said the same thing to him just over ten years ago when Raihan had battled him the first time he went through the Gym Challenge. He took his father’s hand and shook it a bit harder than necessary. Raihan moved to his regular side of the field. For once, he didn’t pull his phone out. This wasn’t going to be a battle he wanted shared with the world.

Celeste knew it was a big deal that he hadn’t pulled out his phone. She called out clearly. “This will be a six-on-six match. Each of you may substitute Pokémon once. Are you both ready?” They both selected their first Pokémon and nodded. She hit the control for the arena shield. “Begin!”

Raihan called out his Pokémon first. “Hydreigon!”

Draken let one of his fangs show as his smirk grew. “Alright, Inteleon, let’s get things started.” He had barely finished calling Inteleon’s name when she burst out of her pokeball. She looked around her surroundings before turning to Draken and letting out an excited cry. Draken sent her a smile. “That’s right, we’re home. I know it’s been a while since we’ve battled in a stadium like this, but I know none of you will let me down.” The rest of his pokeballs rattled on his belt.

Raihan scoffed from across the field. “It’s not like you couldn’t have come back at any time. Hydreigon, Dragon Rush!”

Draken frowned at his son’s reaction. “Dodge it. Then let’s get some hail going with Icy Wind and follow it up with Weather Ball.”

Celeste’s brow rose. It was obvious where Raihan got his tendency to change the weather from. The battle was just starting, and already Draken was playing with the weather.

Inteleon flashed out of sight, dodging to one side as Hydreigon flew through where she had just been standing. She spread the membrane on her back out like a cape as she summoned a frigid blast of Icy Wind to fill the stadium. There was nowhere Hydreigon could dodge. It was powerful enough that hailstones continued to fall after the attack ended. It wasn’t nearly as much as you would see with Blizzard, but it wasn’t a normal occurrence following that attack, either.

As she started to form a massive ball of Ice energy in her palms, Raihan called out. “Counter it with Dark Pulse, then use Zen Headbutt!”

Draken chuckled. “That won’t work. Split attack.” On his command, the ice ball that Inteleon had been forming, shattered into dozens of smaller balls of ice around a large central ball. The ice balls shot forward. The largest collided with Hydreigon’s Dark Pulse, cancelling it out. The rest of the balls of ice slammed into the dragon. Hydreigon fell back with a pained cry.

“Shake it off! You can handle it!” With a roar of fury, Hydreigon surged forward, Psychic energy gathering at its heads.

“Dodge it. Then multi Weather Ball.” Inteleon was fast. Faster than Juno. Maybe almost as fast as Morpheus. Ceteste watched in awe as she easily dodged Hydreigon and formed a dozen ice balls. Without even a word from Draken, each of the attacks split as they had done before. Raihan couldn’t even call a counter before the attacks pummeled Hydreigon, taking it down.

“Hydreigon is unable to battle. Inteleon wins.” She called out.

Draken’s face fell as he finally responded to Raihan’s earlier remark. “I don’t think you really understand just how hard it was for me to be here after your mom died, Rai. I couldn’t come back. It took everything I had just to make the trip here this time.”

Raihan recalled Hydreigon and let out a growl. “So, your solution was to dump everything on your fifteen-year-old son and abandon him? Don’t act like you’re the only one who lost her, she was my mum!” He grabbed his next pokeball and called out. “Goodra! Don’t give Inteleon a place to dodge! Fill the stadium with Thunder!” She turned to glance back at her trainer at the change from his normal tone before summoning a massive lighting storm in the arena.

Inteleon tried to dodge, but the lighting strikes filled every part of the arena. There were just too many of them. She took a direct hit and dropped to her knees. She struggled to rise for a moment before she finally collapsed.

“Inteleon is unable to battle. Goodra wins.” Celeste called out. The battle had barely started, and it was already becoming difficult to watch as the two men finally started to get their feelings off of their chests.

“Good work Inteleon. You did perfectly. Just like old times.” He recalled her and returned her pokeball to his belt. He narrowed his eyes at Raihan as he growled back. “And she was my wife. The love of my life. I know there was no way you could have understood what I felt back then.” His expression hardened. “But now you have someone just as precious to you as your mom was to me.” As Raihan’s eyes shot to Celeste, Draken nodded. “Now imagine that the two of you had been together for seventeen years. And then tomorrow, she was just gone.” Raihan’s face twisted with pain as a memory flashed through his mind. He remembered Celeste laying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. He had nearly lost her then. He couldn’t even imagine how painful it would be to lose her now. As Draken took in his expression, he sighed. “Do you understand now, Rai?”

As Raihan remained silent, Draken reached for his next pokeball. He had barely touched it when Kommo-o burst out of her pokeball. She bellowed out a massive roar as her scales clanked softly against each other. Draken let out a low chuckle. “I see you’re just as ready as Inteleon was.” He spied a few hailstones that were still falling even after Goodra’s massive Thunder attack. “Let’s clear out the rest of this hail. Flamethrower.”

Raihan snapped his focus back on the battle. “Hydro Pump!”

The Fire and Water attacks met with a hiss of steam. Draken put his hands back in his pockets as the smirk returned to his lips. “Keep holding it.” He watched as the steam from the meeting attacks billowed around the field.

Raihan realized what he was doing, too late to stop it. “Stop the Hydro Pump and dodge. Then hit it with Ice Beam!”

“Dodge and use the steam as cover. Then use Clanging Scales.” Draken knew he was limited on how long the steam would remain, now that Raihan was throwing around Ice Beam to drop the temperature on the field. Kommo-o knew her job though, and she had just barely disappeared into the mist when powerful soundwaves ripped across the field, stunning Goodra. “Finish it with Poison Jab.” Kommo-o dashed out of the mist, slamming poisoned claws into Goodra, taking her down.

“Kommo-o wins.” Celeste called. She looked at Draken carefully. Raihan hadn’t been kidding when he told her not to underestimate him. If Raihan was a master at manipulating weather effects, then Draken had to be closer to a god. She had never seen anyone create a weather effect from cancelling two attacks. She wasn’t sure how she was going to counter something like that.

Raihan recalled Goodra with a complex expression on his face. He spoke slowly. “I won’t say that I understand, because I haven’t lost Celeste. But I think I can come pretty close, after sitting at her side in the hospital for two weeks.” His eyes wavered, and finally the hurt started to show, now that he had gotten the anger out. “It doesn’t change the fact that you abandoned me. There were so many times that I needed you. It was like losing both of my parents, one right after the other.” He finally reached for his next pokeball. “Let’s go, Flygon. Sandstorm, then move in with Dragon Claw.”

Draken snorted as the sandstorm started to blow. “You should know better than to use Sandstorm against us, kiddo. Kommo-o?” With a growl, Kommo-o dove into the storm.

Raihan tsked. “She won’t be able to disappear from Flygon. You’re faster than she is, buddy, don’t let her get away!” Flygon let out a cry as he disappeared into the sandstorm as well.

“Clanging Scales. Keep him disoriented.” Kommo-o appeared in one corner of the field, barely visible in the storm, her scales clattering together to launch soundwaves across the field. Almost as soon as she had appeared, Flygon was homing in on her, claws glowing. Kommo-o reappeared at another spot on the field, another soundwave blasting across the field to stagger Flygon.

“Forget the Dragon Claw! Earthquake!” Flygon flew up into the center of the stadium before slamming down into the ground to create a massive shockwave. The shockwave created a brief opening in the sandstorm. Kommo-o had staggered and fallen to the ground, but she was already recovering. “Now! Dragon Claw before she recovers!”

“Use Clanging Scales once more, then Poison Jab.” Draken called out, his posture still completely relaxed. Kommo-o waited until Flygon was right in front of her before letting loose with the most powerful soundwave they had heard yet. Flygon staggered as he flew through the soundwave, shaking his head as he tried to land a hit. He managed to graze Kommo-o, drawing a growl from her as she pummeled him with poisoned claws. The hit sent him rolling across the field. When he came to a rest, he struggled to try to stand, before slumping back to the ground.

“Kommo-o wins.” Celeste called out. She shot a worried look over at Raihan as he recalled Flygon. He still had a grimace on his face.

While Raihan thought about his options, Draken called out over the sandstorm. His voice was sad. “I’m…” He hesitated. “I’m sorry, bud. I really am. I know it doesn’t make anything that I’ve done better, but I…” He trailed off, unsure of what else to say.

Raihan shook his head, like was trying to fight off Draken’s words. “Drampa! Fly! Then hit her with Play Rough!”

“Don’t give him a chance. Clanging Scales.” Draken called out, his eyes narrowing at the move combination Raihan had called out. Kommo-o would be in trouble if they connected.

As the soundwaves shot toward Drampa, the elder dragon launched into the sky, circling high in the stadium. By the time any of the soundwaves reached him, they had weakened enough that they barely fazed him. At some hidden signal, he dove toward Kommo-o. She blasted him with a soundwave, pushing him slightly off course, but not enough to keep him from slamming into her and then pummeling her with the Fairy attack. After the grazing hits she had taken from Flygon, the Fairy attack was too much and she fell backward, unconscious.

“Drampa wins.”

Draken recalled Kommo-o, murmuring as he did. “That’s my girl. Good job.” Raihan remained silent while he considered his next move. He reached for his next pokeball. Again, with barely a touch, Corviknight burst from his pokeball in a flurry of feathers. “It seems all of you are quite eager today.” He chuckled. Corviknight cawed in response, puffing his chest out proudly. Draken nodded. “I know. This is just as important for all of you as it is for me.” One pokeball in particular rattled eagerly on his belt. He placed his hand over it and murmured. “Patience, partner. You’ll get your chance to battle today. I promise.” He looked over at his son, his heart aching with the pain in his expression. “I’m sure that there isn’t much I can do to ever make things up to you, Rai, but I am going to try. That’s why I’m here.”

Raihan’s head snapped toward Draken. His eyes wavered once more. He wanted to believe his father, he really did, but he was struggling to let go of the resentment he had felt for all these years. When he finally found his voice, it cracked. “I guess we’ll just have to see then, won’t we? Actions speak louder than words, dad. Drampa! Use Fly and Steel Wing!”

Draken grimaced for a moment before he controlled his expression to refocus on the battle. “Hurricane. Turn the sand against him.” Corviknight took to the air before producing massive gusts with powerful sweeps of his wings. The flow of the sandstorm quickly changed into a raging tornado, buffeting Drampa as he tried to dodge the damaging sands. As Drampa rose to the top of the stadium, battling the winds the whole way, he angled toward Corviknight, Steel energy coating his wings as he dove. “Meet it with Iron Head.”

The two Steel type attacks cancelled each other out. Both Pokémon fell back, slightly scuffed from their clash. Raihan was quick to call out. “Dragon Pulse!”

“Protect.” The pulse of purple energy glanced harmlessly off of the raven Pokémon. “Dual Wingbeat.”

Corviknight closed in on Drampa. As the first hit landed, Raihan growled out his command. “Dragon Pulse, now!” Since Corviknight was already committed, the pulse of energy slammed into him at point blank range. He fell back, but quickly recovered. Drampa, on the other hand, was starting to breathe hard with the exertion.

The sand tornado that Corviknight had created with Hurricane was starting to die down. Draken saw his chance. “Use Hurricane again, then finish it with Iron Head.” The blast of air from his wings powered up the tornado and pushed it toward Drampa, buffeting him again. He then charged Drampa.

“Hit him with Dragon Pulse again!” Drampa released the energy pulse, connecting with Corviknight. It was clearly doing damage, but not enough, as Corviknight burst through the attack and slammed into Drampa, taking the elder dragon down.

Raihan recalled him quickly, clearly done talking, as he no longer gave Celeste the chance to call out the victor. “Go Turtonator! Multi Dragon Pulse!”

“Dodge them.” Corviknight managed to dodge most of the attacks, but one of the last ones that he dodged, put him straight into the path of another on. “Protect!”

“Wait for it.” Raihan called, seeing his opportunity coming. As soon as the protective barrier dropped, he called out. “Now! Overheat!” The flames overwhelmed the raven Pokémon and finally brought him down.

“So that’s how it’s going to be.” Draken growled, his teal eyes flashing. “Then I guess it’s time to finish this, Rai.” He recalled Corviknight. He didn’t even bother reaching for his pokeball this time. “Haxorus.” He let out an ear-splitting roar as he appeared on the field. “Use Dragon Dance and Rock Slide.”

“Dragon Pulse!” Raihan growled as he caught his father’s plan. “Keep ‘em coming!”

Haxorus started to sway and spin in an intricate dance. Each movement allowed him to dodge one of Turtonator’s blasts. As he moved, he scooped up massive boulders to launch them at Turtonator. Turtonator struggled to dodge the boulders, with the way that Haxorus was constantly moving. He spun, catching one of the boulders on his shell as he activated Shell Trap. The explosion sent the boulder hurtling back at Haxorus, but without any success as the dragon continued to dance away from any of his attacks. After several boulders had struck Turtonator, Draken’s face fell into a fanged smirk. “Finish it with Surf.” Haxorus spun to a stop as it summoned a tidal wave, sweeping Turtonator off of his feet and slamming him into the wall of the stadium. As the water receded, Turtonator struggled to rise before collapsing.

Raihan recalled Turtonator with a grimace. As he reached for his last pokeball, he activated his Dynamax band. “This is it, partner, it all comes down to you. Gigantamax! Duraludon!”

“Rock Slide.” Draken didn’t look concerned as Duraludon took the field in his Gigantamax form, towering over Haxorus. Without hesitation, Haxorus started throwing the boulders again, most of them bounced off of Duraludon harmlessly.

“Max Wyrmwind!” Raihan roared. He knew he had a lot of ground to make up, and he had to make every move count now. The attack filled the field, and as it faded away, Haxorus was left unconscious.

Draken recalled Haxorus with a smile. “Good work.” He pulled the sleeve of his blazer up. “I should have realized that Dynamax wasn’t off the table. Good thing I brought my band.” He reached for his second to last pokeball. “Let’s Gigantamax, Duraludon.”

Celeste gasped as Draken called out for his own Duraludon to take the field. The two skyscraper Pokémon stared each other down. Raihan made the first move. “Max Knuckle!”

A feral grin came to Draken’s lips. “Protect yourself with Max Steelspike!” Massive steel spikes rose from the ground. Instead of surrounding and damaging Raihan’s Duraludon, they formed a protective shield around Draken’s Duraludon. He still took some damage from Raihan’s attack, but not nearly enough.

“Again, before he can protect himself!” Raihan growled. He knew the battle was over. There was no way he could win now.

“You know what to do Durlaudon.” Draken called. The steel spikes surrounding the skyscraper Pokémon surged again, taking most of the damage from the attack again. He waited patiently for Raihan’s Duraludon to revert to normal size before calling out the final attack. “G-Max Depletion.” The force of the swirling vortex of the Dynamax attack against Duraludon at his normal size and strength was too much. He slammed against the stadium shield before collapsing.

Draken’s Duraludon reverted to normal size as Raihan’s collapsed. Celeste’s voice was filled with shock as she called the match. “Draken wins.” She hit the controls to deactivate the stadium’s shield before making her way down to the field.

Raihan had already recalled his Duraludon as Draken patted his Duraludon on the shoulder. “Nicely done.” He looked at his Pokémon fondly. “I’m glad to see you haven’t gotten rusty.” He held up his pokeball. “Get some rest. We have one more battle today, and I’m betting it will be quite the show.” As he placed the pokeball on his belt, he looked toward his son. Raihan was standing with his head bowed. One of his hands was covering his face. Draken slowly walked toward him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof. There were so many feels while writing this chapter. So much dragon angst. Our boys really need all the cuddles right about now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that I absolutely adore AdeenBanner for letting me borrow Draken for this fic.

Celeste hesitated as she stepped back onto the field. Draken was approaching Raihan. Her heart stung when she saw the way her fiancé was standing. He had never looked so defeated after a loss. Not even after any of the times he lost to Leon. She could see his shoulders trembling slightly, but as much as she wanted to rush to his side, she knew she needed to let the two men settle things first.

Raihan could hear his father’s footsteps as he approached, but he still couldn’t bring himself to look at him. It wasn’t just his pride that hurt right now. All these years, he had done the best he could to be worthy of the legacy his father had dumped on him, and yet, he’d still lost to his father easily. He flinched when Draken placed his hand on his shoulder. His voice shook as he finally opened his mouth. “All this time. All that I’ve done to try to be even half the Gym Leader you were, and I still get creamed by my old man like I’m nothing.” He still hadn’t lifted his head, ashamed of the tears that he couldn’t hide.

Hearing Raihan sound so defeated was like a dagger straight to Draken’s heart. “Look at me, Rai.” When he finally lifted his head, his eyes still shined with tears. Draken’s eyes welled with his own tears as emotions he had tried very hard to contain finally worked to the surface. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. I have watched every one of your battles, and I know just how talented of a Gym Leader you have become.” He pulled Raihan into his arms. “It wasn’t fair what I put you through, but I am so proud of the man you have become.”

Raihan stood there for a moment, before he finally gave up and hugged his father back. They stood there for a long moment before footsteps caught their attention. “Rai?” Celeste’s voice sounded concerned. “Draken?” She hesitated before she came any closer. “Are you both…alright?”

Raihan pulled away from Draken, wiping his eyes. He cleared his throat. “Yeah.” He moved to her side and pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. “Yeah, Princess. We’re okay.” He murmured. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight as he still trembled slightly. “It’s just a lot to work through.” She held him for several long minutes before his trembling finally stopped and he slowly pulled away from her. “We should probably go heal our teams up so you two can battle.”

“I’ll wait here.” She said softly as she watched the pair of dragons head for Raihan’s locker room. Out of convenience, all of the Gym Leaders had one of the healing kiosks that they used at the Pokémon center, so that they wouldn’t need to leave the Gym between challengers during the season. After a few moments, they returned. They both seemed to have collected themselves as they joined her. She looked at Raihan carefully to make sure he was okay before she turned to Draken. “So, Draken, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why exactly do you want to battle me?”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing.” Raihan added.

Draken raised a brow. “Can’t I just want to battle the Champion?”

Celeste crossed her arms. “I mean, yeah, you could, but I get the feeling that’s not it.”

He chuckled. “You’re fairly perceptive. It’s really quite simple.” At her raised brow he continued. “I want to make sure you’re good enough for my kid.”

“What are you off about, dad?” Raihan asked, the beginnings of a growl working its way up his throat.

“Fair enough.” Celeste spoke up. She turned to head for Raihan’s usual side of the field, pausing at his side for a moment. “Rai? You mind playing referee?”

“Princess, are you sure about this?” He didn’t like the implication behind his father’s statement, or what would happen if she ended up losing.

She shot him a smirk. “Are you doubting me, Dragon Boy?”

He shook his head. “Of course not, but you have seen him battle all of one time.”

“And?”

He finally sighed, realizing that it really was no different than any other battle to her. “And nothing, I guess.” He moved to the ref’s stand as they took their place.

Celeste called across the field to Draken. “How about the same conditions as your battle with Raihan? Six on six with one substitution each?”

Draken sent her a smirk. “Sounds good.”

Celeste’s face turned serious then. She had thought about the best way to start against Draken’s team while he and Raihan had been tending to their teams. She still hadn’t seen one of his Pokémon, so she was a bit of a disadvantage. He’d told Raihan that he had watched all of his matches, which meant he had seen their battles and likely remembered all of her team. She reached for her first pokeball as Draken did the same. Raihan looked at them both before calling out. “Begin.”

“Corviknight.”

“Apollo!” Celeste didn’t let the grimace show on her face. In most cases, she would think that Apollo would be able to throw down with a Corviknight, but after watching some of the things Draken had done against Raihan, she knew she was off to a bad start. “Dragon Pulse! Hard and fast and keep ‘em coming!”

“Protect.” Draken put both of his hands in his pockets. “Then dodge the rest and close in to use Iron Head.” The first blast glanced harmlessly off of the protective shield as Corviknight took to the air. As soon as he was airborne, he was spinning through the stadium, dodging every blast that Apollo launched at him.

“Keep ‘em going. We’ll have to hit him when he gets close.” Corviknight started to close the distance, Steel energy starting to shine around his head. As soon as he was in Apollo’s range, she called out. “Power Whip, take him down! Then use Muddy Water!” She knew that the Grass type move wouldn’t do much damage on its own, but she figured she’d be able to use it to at least knock the raven Pokémon out of the air long enough to hit it with a Water attack. Sure enough, Corviknight hit the ground. Apollo blasted him with Muddy Water. It didn’t do a lot of damage, but every little bit would help.

As Corviknight started to recover, Draken called out with a smirk. “Thanks for the water. Hurricane.” As the massive gusts of wind took hold, the water on the field was pulled into it, turning the attack into a cyclone of water.

Celeste tsked. That had been what she was afraid of. She couldn’t send more water onto the field, because it would only make the cyclone more powerful. She didn’t have any options. “Brace for it!”

“As soon as it hits, use Dual Wingbeat.”

The cyclone slammed into Apollo, sending him flying. Corviknight was quick to follow up with his next attack, hitting Apollo before he could regain his footing, and taking him down. Celeste recalled Apollo and paused as she reached for her next pokeball. She wasn’t entirely sure of which way to go for her next move. As she considered what she knew of Draken’s team, he pulled one of his hands from his pocket and held it up to his mouth as he cleared his throat. “I didn’t take you to be the type of trainer to hesitate in the middle of battle. How boring.”

Two of her pokeballs rattled on her hip in response to his taunt. She growled out her response as she reached for one of them. “It’s not considered hesitating when you’re considering the best strategy to destroy a worthy opponent.” She tossed the pokeball into the air. “Loki. Take him down.” With a menacing look, Loki disappeared.

Draken’s eyes narrowed. “Protect.”

“That won’t be enough.” Celeste called out, her own voice finally turning smug. As she did, electricity crackled through the stadium. The first lightning bolt crashed into Corviknight, bouncing harmlessly off of the protective shield. Two more bolts followed in quick succession. As the third fell away, the protective shield wore off.

“Hurricane. Don’t leave him a place to hide.” As Corviknight started to build up the wind gusts, lightning filled the stadium once more, striking the raven Pokémon twice in quick succession, dropping him out of the sky. Draken recalled Corviknight with a smile. “It seems you aren’t so boring after all, Celeste. That’s good.” He replaced Corviknight’s pokeball on his belt.

She scoffed. “I can see where Raihan gets his mouth from. At least he isn’t rude when he’s battling. But don’t worry, I’ll beat it out of you before we’re done.”

He chuckled. “We’ll see about that. Duraludon.” The skyscraper Pokémon burst out of his pokeball with a roar. Celeste’s brow twitched. She was in for another tough round, without a real advantage again. As sparks from the multitude of Thunderbolt’s Loki had used, crackled around the arena and fizzled out, she put a hand on her hip. Loki was still invisible as he filled the stadium with his aura. She didn’t want to recall him and waste her substitution. She had a feeling that she was still going to need it later on in the battle. Draken called out smoothly. “I think we’ll take a page from your book. Duraludon? Fill the stadium. Use Thunder.” The few sparks that were still fizzling out, instantly sparked to life as lightning began to strike through the field in rapid succession.

“Hit him with a barrage of Shadow Ball!” Celeste called out. She knew Draken was trying to ensure that Duraludon landed a hit. She couldn’t risk using Dark Pulse yet, because that would tell him where exactly Loki was. As the multitude of Shadow Ball’s manifested throughout the stadium, they began to circle around the stadium before slamming into Duraludon.

He shrugged off the attack and continued to use Thunder. Celeste felt the energy in the stadium waver as Loki took a hit. She saw Draken’s and Duraludon’s focus zero in on a ripple in the stadium, before Loki finally reappeared. Draken’s lip pulled up in a savage smirk. “Dark Pulse.”

“Counter it!” The pulses of Dark energy met with a clash. Both Pokémon dug in to keep pushing against the other. After a long moment, her eyes widened when Loki started to falter, before his own attack gave out and he was hit with Duraludon’s Dark Pulse. She had never seen Loki outmatched in a direct contest of Dark Pulse before.

“Finish it with Dragon Tail.”

“Dodge it!” Celeste called out. Loki barely made it to his feet and was able to disappear before Duraludon was attacking the spot where the Ghost had just been standing. “Use him like a giant lightning rod! Thunderbolt!” She had to get some damage in on Duraludon, and fast. The electric attack hit before Draken could call out another move, but Duraludon was still standing strong, only a few scuffs littered his steel hide.

“It’s time to end this, Duraludon. Draw him out with Thunder again, then finish him with Dark Pulse.” Celeste couldn’t do anything but watch as Loki reappeared, staggering as he was buffeted by the Thunder attack again, before Dark Pulse slammed into him, throwing him across the field, finally taking him down.

Raihan sucked in a breath as he watched. Loki was always tough to take down, but his dad had made it look easy. Celeste didn’t exactly look worried about the battle. He paused as he watched her more closely. No, it wasn’t worry, it was irritation and anger that were starting to brew inside of her. He knew the look that was crawling across her face all too well. The narrowing of her eyes and the twisting of her lips into a sneer. The way she changed the angle of her body, so that her left side was just a bit closer to the pitch than her right. _‘Yeah.’_ He concluded. _‘She is definitely getting pissed off.’_

She recalled Loki, anger starting to seethe through her veins. _‘He just made taking Loki down look easy. And he still has that stupidly handsome, smug look on his face.’_ She growled the thoughts to herself. She quickly grabbed her next pokeball, without an ounce of hesitation. “Juno! Pyro Ball!”

“Bat it away with Dragon Tail, then use Dragon Pulse!”

“Bounce then Overheat followed by Focus Blast!” Juno quickly launched herself into the air, avoiding the pulse of energy, gathering the flames around her in preparation for her landing.

_‘Impressive.’_ Draken thought. _‘Get her angry and she becomes that much more aggressive in her strategy.’_ As much as he was admiring her, he called out a defense, though he was sure that this round was already over. “Take it out of the sky with Thunder.”

He was even more sure the round was over when Celeste called out her counter. “Release the Overheat to counter Thunder. Pummel Duraludon with Focus Blast.”

_‘She anticipated that I would use Thunder while her Cinderace was in the air. She watched me battle once, and she can already anticipate my moves.’_ He let out a low chuckle as Juno landed and managed to take Duraludon out with a single round of Focus Blast.

Celeste frowned as Juno retreated closer to her. “Care to share what you find so amusing?”

He shook his head. “Not really.” He shot her a fanged grin. “I wouldn’t want to upset you, after all.” A low growl sounded from her throat, causing him to smirk even more. “I think you’ve been spending too much time with Rai. You’ve almost got the growl down.”

Raihan groaned as his dad continued to taunt Celeste. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was trying to accomplish by making her so mad, but he had a feeling it was going to blow up in his dad’s face pretty quickly.

Finally, ready to continue, Draken called out his next Pokémon. Celeste wasn’t even remotely surprised at his choice. “Inteleon. Snipe Shot.”

“Counter with Pyro Ball.” The attacks fizzled out with a hiss of steam. Celeste’s eyes narrowed as she remembered what Draken had been able to do with the steam before. She didn’t want to give him that chance. “Close in and use Focus Blast.”

“Slow her down with a barrage of Shadow Ball, then use Icy Wind.” He wasn’t about to get through this battle without at least one more weather change.

“Dodge them!” Juno darted across the arena, easily avoiding the Shadow Balls as she closed in to attack. As Inteleon released the blast of Icy Wind, hail started to fall in the stadium just as it had done during the battle with Raihan earlier. “Get rid of that hail! Overheat!”

“Snipe Shot.”

An inferno filled the stadium, turning the hail to mist. As the flames receded, Juno was hit squarely with Snipe Shot, forcing her back several feet before she dropped to a knee. With a single word, Juno was hit again, and this time she fell to the ground the rest of the way. _‘Alright. Here is where things may get dicey. If his last Pokémon is something that can counter her, I’ll have to be ready to use that substitution.’_ She recalled Juno before picking up her next pokeball. As she called out her next Pokémon, she kept that pokeball in her hand, ready to recall her if things went wrong. “Aura! Stop her in her tracks and take her down with Magical Leaf!”

“Counter with Dark Pulse!”

Celeste let her own smirk rise to her lips. “Don’t waste your breath. It won’t do any good.” Sure enough, Inteleon was frozen in place, struggling against invisible bonds of Aura’s Psychic attack, helpless to defend herself as a storm of leaves rose from the center of the pitch, spiraling in a whirlwind as it closed in on the Water-type before buffeting her mercilessly. As the leaves began to settle, finally, Inteleon was released, and collapsed to the ground.

Draken returned Inteleon, murmuring quietly. “Good work, sweetheart. You did well today.” As he replaced Inteleon’s pokeball back on his belt, he put his hand on his hip and looked at the field calmly. There really wasn’t any choice that he could use, other than his partner. With a smile, he spoke. “I suppose that we’ve put this off long enough. Let’s go, partner.”

With a flash, his Lucario took the field with a howl. Celeste instantly raised Aura’s pokeball and recalled her. He had really only left her with one option at this point also. “Anubis.” Her own Lucario burst forth from his pokeball, a snarl ripping through his lips. “Don’t underestimate them.” She cautioned. Anubis took a few steps back, closer to her, angling himself into a more ready position. Since he was much closer to her now, she murmured her words to him, keeping them barely audible. “This is going to be tough. No matter what happens, we can’t lose this round, okay bud? We don’t have to win outright, but we cannot lose.” He nodded with a bark, not taking his eyes off of the older Lucario across the field from him.

Draken’s smile turned back into a smirk. “I think it’s time we taught you a lesson about exactly who you’re dealing with.”

Celeste snorted. “That’s rich.” Her eyes sharpened. “I doubt we have much to worry about from a washed-up Gym Leader that’s past his prime. Not when we’re just starting into ours.”

Draken growled as his Lucario snarled at her. “Now who’s got the rude mouth?” Her calling him old stung his pride more than her comment about him being washed-up ever could. “I’m nowhere even CLOSE to being past my prime, kiddo.”

She shrugged. “I guess we’ll just have to see about that. Go.” Anubis dashed across the field, a barrage of Aura Sphere’s sailing toward Lucario.

“Counter them.” Draken’s Lucario snapped into action, quickly generating his own Aura Sphere’s to cancel out the attacks. Without a word from Celeste, Anubis made a quick turn, and closed in on Lucario. _‘He’s fast.’_ Draken clenched his jaw, the only sign he was worried about the battle. “Dodge it.” His own Lucario moved to the side, to only just barely be grazed by Anubis’s paw. “Power-up Punch.” Anubis dropped to his knees, sliding under Lucario’s attack. As it missed him, he let loose with Dragon Pulse, connecting at point blank and forcing Lucario back. _‘It’s impressive that he can battle so well without any commands. Impressive, and dangerous. It’s really cutting into our reaction time.’_

Draken made a decision then and grabbed Lucario’s pokeball. “Alright, partner. It’s time to kick things up a notch. Let’s Dynamax.”

Celeste had no choice but to do the same if she had any hope of surviving the round. “Then we’ll do the same.” As they both grew to massive size within the stadium, Celeste quickly considered her options. As the two Lucario squared off against each other, she and Draken called out at the same time. “Max Knuckle!”

“Max Knuckle!” Massive fists of energy slammed into both Pokémon. Draken’s Lucario staggered back a step before recovering his stance.

Anubis sagged to a knee before Celeste called out. “You can do it!” He climbed to his feet, recovering more slowly than Celeste was hoping to see. She grit her teeth as she realized that Draken’s Lucario was probably stronger than Anubis. Her partner would have to dig deep to hold up long enough to take Draken’s partner down with him. “Again!”

“Max Knuckle again!” Draken called out at the same time again. He knew he needed to push for the win while they were Dynamaxed. It dropped the speed advantage Celeste had started the round with. As the energies collided again, both Lucario and Anubis slid back from the impact. This time, they both dropped to a knee, breathing hard. Both Pokémon struggled for a moment to regain their feet. Neither needed any command to ready the same attack once more, putting everything they had into it. Twin explosions of Dynamax energy filled the stadium as both Lucario and Anubis collapsed, the round ending in a draw. Draken recalled Lucario with a sigh. “Good work, partner. They’re stronger than I gave them credit for.”

Celeste recalled Anubis. “You did great, bud. Get some rest. We’ll handle it from here.” She reached for her next pokeball without any hesitation. “Morpheus.”

“Haxorus.” Both dragons took the field with a roar. Morpheus’s tail flicked back and forth as Draken let out a wry chuckle. “Interesting choice. I would have been sure that you would have gone with your Hatterene.”

Celeste scoffed. “Despite whatever it is you may think about me, Draken, I’m no beginner. You’ve met your match against me and my team. Dragon Rush.” Morpheus disappeared in a flash.

“Don’t let yourself be an easy target. Dragon Dance.” Haxorus started to move, just the same as he had against Raihan. It wasn’t a moment too soon either. Haxorus moved just enough that Morpheus’s attack grazed him, instead of landing head on. “Rock Slide.”

“Steel Wing. Bat away the ones you can’t dodge.” Celeste’s eyes narrowed as she watched Haxorus move. It took her a few minutes, but she finally caught the pattern to his movements. She waited for one sequence in particular to start before calling out. “Now! Dragon Rush again! Then use Phantom Force!”

Draken realized she had caught on to the pattern of the dance. “Iron Tail to counter!” Haxorus managed to bring his tail up and infuse it with Steel energy just in time to block his Dragon Rush, but as quick as they connected, Morhpeus disappeared, reappearing behind Haxorus and slamming the attack into his back. And again, as he connected, he disappeared, reappearing across the field, out of range. “Don’t give him a place to dodge, use Surf!”

Celeste smirked. “Fly, then combine it with Dragon Rush, and another Phantom Force.” Morpheus easily rose above the tidal wave of water that Haxorus produced, before disappearing from sight as he slammed into Haxorus with Dragon Rush, and then finishing the other dragon with Phantom Force. As Draken recalled Haxorus, Celeste crossed her arms. “I have to say, I’m a little disappointed.”

Draken’s brow raised. “Oh?”

“I was prepared for all sorts of weather changes after watching your battle with Rai. But here we are, at the end, and you’ve left me wanting.”

Draken chuckled. “Well, I would hardly be considered a gentleman if I left a lady unsatisfied.” He shoved his hands back in his pockets. He snorted as he heard Raihan growl at his words.

_‘What’s he planning?’_ Celeste thought to herself. _‘He’s way too relaxed with only Kommo-o left to go against both Morpheus and Aura.’_

As Draken continued to stand there, seemingly without a care in the world, his face pulled into a smirk. Celeste’s heart sped up a tick. It was the same smirk she had seen Raihan wear time and time again, right before he would crush an opponent. A single fang peeked between his lips. “Kommo-o.” She burst from her pokeball with a roar, her scales rattling together. His smirk turned into a grin as he addressed Celeste again. “Since you’re so desperate for a change in the weather, I’ll be more than happy to oblige. “Kommo-o? Sandstorm and blend in.”

Celeste started to scoff when he called sandstorm, but the scoff quickly died on her lips as her eyes widened. She was used to sandstorms. They were Raihan’s favorite weather change, after all. And she had spent an entire month training in sandstorms before she had battled Raihan during her Gym Challenge. She thought she had seen the worst sandstorms that could exist. Nothing could have prepared her for the sandstorm that Kommo-o whipped up. One of Raihan’s sandstorms would have been like a summer breeze compared to the maelstrom filling the stadium now. She quickly pulled an arm up to protect her face from the sand. She couldn’t see Draken across the pitch from her, or Raihan up on the referee stand, the sand was so thick. Even Morpheus, who had been at the ready just a few feet in front of her, was lost to her view.

_‘I’m in trouble.’_ Was her first thought. Her next thought was to try to get Morpheus out of harm’s way. “Try to get above it! See if you can catch sight of her! If you spot her, take her down with Dragon Rush!”

His chuckle echoed over the roar of the sands. “Clanging Scales.” She heard, rather than saw Morpheus cry out as the sound waves rocked through the stadium. As they rang out again and again, she was helpless to even recall him. She couldn’t get eyes on him to get his pokeball lined up. As the sound waves echoed once more, Morpheus was flung out of the storm and into the wall beside her. With a whimper, he fell limp and passed out. As she recalled him, Draken called out, taunting. “You’re awfully quiet over there. Don’t tell me that I’ve overwhelmed you, especially after all that talk about me being past my prime.” His words trailed off in a growl at the memory of the insult.

She tsked. “There’s that mouth again. You act like you’ve won, just because you’re throwing a bit of sand around.”

“Big talk considering you couldn’t counter at all after Kommo-o did you the favor of granting you your weather change. If you’re still not satisfied, I’m sure she can turn it up a bit.”

Celeste didn’t think it was possible, but in response to Draken’s words, the sandstorm intensified even more. She closed her eyes and turned her face away from the blowing sand. She pressed one of her sleeves against her mouth and took a slow breath to settle herself. She had trained with Aura in enough sandstorms to know that the blowing sand really affected her ability to sense the world around her. They had been working on holding storms at bay long enough to locate an opponent and attack, but they had never had to manage against anything like the storm raging in front of her. _‘We’re only going to have one shot, but if we connect, there’s no way Kommo-o will be able to stay standing.’_

Draken was getting impatient. “You can always give up, if you can’t handle the sand.”

“There isn’t a chance in hell that I would give up.” She snarled, almost immediately regretting opening her mouth. She spat a mouthful of sand out before calling out her final Pokémon. “Aura.” As soon as she appeared, the intensity of the storm immediately surrounding her and Celeste eased, held back by her psychic powers. “Thanks, dear. Listen.” She lowered her voice, knowing that Draken probably wouldn’t be able to hear her over the roaring sand. “I know we’ve never had to go against a storm this intense, but I know you can do it. Just like we’ve practiced, use Psychic to stop the storm and clear the way to Kommo-o. As soon as you have her locked down, hit her as hard as you can with Dazzling Gleam. We’re only going to get one chance, so make it count.”

“Alright, it’s time to end this.” Draken called from across the pitch. “Kommo-o, use Poison Jab.”

“Get ready.” Celeste called, gritting her teeth. She thought she saw surprise register in Kommo-o’s eyes as she burst into the area that Aura was controlling, as she had expected the sand to be as thick as it was throughout the rest of the field. “NOW!” Aura let out a shrill cry as everything in the arena froze, her eyes glowing with a fierce purple glow as she poured all of her strength into Psychic. With another cry, she released Dazzling Gleam at nearly point-blank range on Kommo-o, releasing her hold on the Dragon Pokémon as she did. The blast of Dazzling Gleam threw Kommo-o across the arena, and out the other side of the still frozen sand, to slam against the wall beside Draken. She slumped to the ground with a weak growl. Finally, the sand filling the arena slowly fell to the ground, Aura’s eyes still glowing with her exertions.

Draken’s mouth dropped as he watched his sandstorm freeze in place, and it stayed that way as Kommo-o crashed into the wall beside him, slumping to the ground before losing consciousness. But what really finished him off and showed him just how powerful of a trainer Celeste was, was the way the frozen sand slowly dropped to the ground, to let him see the glowing eyes of her Hatterene. It had taken her two moves to strip his advantage and to end their battle.

“Celeste wins.” Raihan called out, shaking Draken out of his shock.

He recalled Kommo-o. “Well done. We’ll get you tended to shortly.”

The glow finally faded from Aura’s eyes. As it did, she staggered slightly. Celeste smiled warmly as she held up her pokeball. “You did fantastic. Get some rest now.” With a soft cry, she returned to her pokeball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG GUYS!!!!! I GOT MYSELF A MORPHEUS PLUSHIE!!!!!  
> I really wanted to get Loki and/or Anubis, but they were sold out. 😭  
> Still, in honor of finally starting the physical collection of my team, you get another amazingly long chapter! 8.5 pages and almost 4900 words later, I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've ever written for you all. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also, THANK YOU JESSI FOR MAKING SURE I DID DADDY RIGHT!


	6. Chapter 6

Raihan was quick to join them on the pitch as they met in the center. He wrapped his arm around Celeste and pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head. Draken let out a laugh before settling into a grin. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he spoke. “I must say, I’m impressed. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a battle like that, Celeste. Thank you.”

She grinned right back at him. “I should be thanking you. You showed me some things that I need to work on, if I have any hope of maintaining my title for any length of time. I was sweating a bit with that sandstorm at the end.” She pulled away from Raihan enough to run her hand through her hair, shaking it out as she did. As sand continued to fall out of her hair and clothes, her grin fell into a frown as she shot a look at Raihan. “What is with your family and sand?”

Raihan chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sure you were expecting it, Princess. That’s why you brought the spare clothes, right?”

She tsked before she gave up on shaking the sand out of her clothes. “I was. Doesn’t make me like it anymore, though. You know how I feel about the sand.” She refocused her attention to Draken. “So, did you see what you needed to from our battle?”

He nodded. “I did.”

She waited for him to elaborate, her brow rising when he didn’t. “But you aren’t going to tell us what exactly it was, are you?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s nothing that you need to worry about. I’ve seen what I need to, to know that you’re the perfect balance for Raihan.”

She eyed him for a moment before she shrugged. “Fair enough. Before we do anything else, I need to shower. After that.” She checked her watch. “It’s getting late, so how about after we’ve all showered and changed, we go to dinner?”

“Sounds good to me, Princess.” Raihan perked up at the mention of food. With everything that had happened through the afternoon, he was starving.

Draken hesitated a moment. “I don’t want to impose.”

“Nonsense.” Celeste stopped him. “It’s not imposing if I invite you. Besides.” She glanced between the two men. “I know you’ve cleared the air, but I’m not stupid enough to believe that one battle is enough to get the two of you speaking normally again.”

She leveled a flat look at him as he continued to hesitate. After a moment, Raihan sighed. “Might as well give in, dad. She’s relentless.”

Finally, Draken’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Alright then.”

After nodding in approval, Celeste turned to head for Raihan’s locker room. After they had tended to their teams, Draken excused himself to head for the challenger locker room to clean himself up. As soon as the door shut behind him, Celeste was peeling off her uniform, groaning as she shook the sand out of it. “I mean it. What is with your family and sand?”

Raihan laughed again. “At least it’s better than the blizzard for Melony’s Gym mission?” She shot him a glare before she turned the shower on, stepping in as soon as the water was warm enough. He chuckled again at her look before joining her.

Once they were clean, they pulled on the set of clothes that Celeste had packed and met Draken in the lobby. They set off for one of the restaurants nearby. As they walked through town, they still drew whispers and looks, but they were all far less tense about the attention than they had been on the way to the Gym. As they were seated, the waitress was quick to get their drink orders before scurrying away. Celeste snorted at the squeal that they heard come from the kitchen.

Draken’s brow rose. “I take it that happens a lot?”

She simply rolled her eyes. “All the time. Doesn’t seem to matter one bit that we’re engaged.”

Raihan shot her a fanged grin. “I’m sorry I’m so handsome, Princess.”

She smirked as she tapped a finger against her lip as she appraised him. “I suppose I can forgive you. After all, I think they’re squealing over Draken, just as much as they’re squealing over you.”

Raihan sputtered while Draken coughed into his fist as his cheeks darkened. After they placed their orders, they had a bit of quiet to themselves. Draken was quick to capitalize on it to sate his curiosity. “So, Celeste.” Her lavender eyes flicked over to meet his. “You’ll have to tell me how you managed to get your Lucario and Gengar to such a level where they can battle without commands. It’s usually difficult just to get to a high enough level where simple one-word commands and gestures are sufficient in battle. But you weren’t even doing that.”

A faint blush rose on her cheeks at the praise in his observation. “Well, it helps that Anubis and Loki were my first two Pokémon. I got Loki when I was almost twelve, and Anubis was shortly after that, so they’ve both been with me long before I even was able to become a trainer. And during all of the time that I traveled through Kalos and was Champion there, and after that when I came back home and did the Gym Challenge here, they’ve never been away from my side. Except for maybe a couple weeks for training purposes. So, I think that’s a good part of why I don’t necessarily need commands for them. They’ve battled at my side enough that they know what I’m going to ask for in any given situation.”

“Still, that’s remarkable.” Draken countered. “That kind of bond is difficult to achieve.”

She shrugged. “I mean, I try to get all of my team to be able to battle on their own to an extent. So, I guess I never really thought about it too much. I just felt like it was another tactic to give me a leg up against other trainers.”

As their food came, the conversation continued to flow between the three of them. She could tell that both Draken and Raihan were making an effort to engage each other, but it wasn’t without an awkward moment here and there. As they were finishing up, Celeste made another offer that shocked both of them. “Draken, why don’t you stay with us?”

Draken glanced at Raihan briefly before shaking his head. “I think it would be better if I gave you both your space.”

“Nonsense. You’re in one of the hotels, right? There’s still almost a month to go before the wedding. There is no reason for you to stay in a hotel that long. We have the spare bedroom and bathroom.” Draken started to open his mouth to argue before she cut him off. “And I don’t want to hear anything about imposing.”

“I..” He sighed. “There isn’t any point in arguing, is there?”

“Nope.” Celeste retorted, popping the ‘p’ at the end of the word.

Draken sighed again in defeat. “Thank you. I appreciate the offer.”

Celeste nodded in satisfaction. “You’re family. It’s the least we can do. Right, Rai?” He just nodded, knowing better than to try to argue with her about this. He knew what she was doing. She was trying to give them more opportunity to reconnect. He wouldn’t admit it, but he did appreciate the opportunity, now that they had cleared the air a bit.

They separated when they left the restaurant, Draken heading over to his hotel to get his bags while Celeste and Raihan headed home. Before long, Draken was knocking on the door. Celeste showed him to the guest room before joining Raihan in their room. As she crawled into bed beside him, Raihan voiced the question that had been left in the air earlier in the day. “So.” He murmured. “What do you think about dad’s offer from earlier?”

She frowned. “I don’t know. It’s really sweet of him to offer, but what about you, babe?”

His brow rose. “What do you mean, what about me?”

“I mean, I don’t want to have the dance if you don’t have yours.” She snuggled closer to him. “It just wouldn’t be fair.”

He tightened his arm around her. “There might be an option for a stand in. Let me think on it for a few days, though.”

She hummed in response before they both drifted to sleep.

Things got easier between the two dragons during the next month before the wedding. Celeste quietly celebrated each little victory as the two reconnected. She and Raihan managed to get their plans set for their honeymoon. Raihan had taken care of their rings, using the same jeweler that had done her engagement ring. Finally, they were both being pulled out by their friends for their bachelor and bachelorette parties, about a week before the wedding. Celeste made Leon swear to her that there would be no strippers, and he responded by promising that they would be having a pretty innocent evening. They would have a handful of battles, followed by a trip to the bars before wrapping up for the night.

Her night ended up being pretty similar, which made her laugh. The only difference was that they didn’t just go to the bars. Nessa insisted on dragging them all out to one of the karaoke bars before they all got too sloshed. The only thing that brought Celeste down a bit, was that Malva hadn’t made it for the party. She was still holding out hope that she would make it for the wedding itself, but things weren’t exactly looking promising.

As they began the final week before the wedding, Celeste took off from the League. The season would be starting in a couple weeks, anyway, so there really wasn’t anything else that they should need to do that would absolutely require her presence. It allowed her to pour all of her energy into making sure all of the finishing touches were perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, hey there!  
> I am, in fact, still alive and kicking. It's been a while since I've posted on either of the ongoing fics for Celeste, so I figured I should try to get something up, at least. I hope this chapter finds you all well. I just hit the tiniest of breaks in my classwork, and by break, I mean it's more like a half day off between work, class, and literally every other adult responsibility I have going on in my life right now. 
> 
> Anywho, I'm rambling. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and hopefully it won't be quite so ridiculously long before I get another chapter posted for you guys. Take care!
> 
> ALSO: Customary shout out again to Jessi for letting me borrow Daddy Draken. 💖


End file.
